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Objective:

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the relevance of low social support for the development and course of coronary heart disease (CHD).

Methods:

Three electronic databases were searched (MEDLINE, PsycINFO/PSYNDEX, and Web of Science 2007/03). More than 1700 papers were screened in a first step. We included prospective studies assessing the impact of social support in either an initially healthy study population (etiologic studies) or in a study population with preexisting CHD (prognostic studies).

Outcomes:

Myocardial infarction in etiologic studies; cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality in prognostic studies. Effects were reported as relative risk (RR) or hazard ratio (HR).

Results:

There is some evidence for an impact of low functional social support on the prevalence of CHD in etiologic studies (RR, range, 1.00–2.23). In contrast, there is no evidence of an impact of low …